"Hollywood would attract more people if it had a smoke-free beach," said Lieberman, who lived in Hollywood until moving to Fort Lauderdale last year. "It's a shame. Secondhand smoke is deadly. And when someone pitches a cigarette butt on the beach, it can wind up in the hands of a child or in the mouth of a bird."

Audrey Silk, founder of Brooklyn-based smoking rights group NYC Clash, had a different take.

"Florida has a pre-emption on smoking bans and cities are trying to pass them anyway," she said. "They have no authority to do this. Can you imagine you're being robbed and the cops are busy fining people on the beach for smoking?"

Hollywood resident Ann Ralston, a former smoker, was also pleased.

"To ban smoking in a public place, that's just taking more of our rights away," she said.